Can you still be an air courier in return for cheap flights?

After hearing about air couriers getting cheap flights, I searched the web looking for a company advertising such vacancies.

I couldn’t find any that looked reputable. Do courier firms still offer this opportunity? — Jim Robinson, Suffolk

Simon says In the bad old days, when it took the average British worker months to earn enough for a long-haul flight, the best way to find a cheap flight to New York or Singapore was to enlist as an air courier.

“Time-sensitive documents” were most expeditiously despatched as personal baggage accompanying a paying passenger.

You had to surrender your checked baggage allowance, turn up hours ahead of departure, wade through bureaucracy and relinquish the right to travel with a companion. But in return, during the Eighties, you could fly to New York for £100 one way, or go supersonic on Concorde for £150.

In the Nineties, British Airways World Cargo became a leading source of cheap seats, with a menu of destinations from Tokyo to Sao Paulo.

Since then, two things have happened. Giant companies such as DHL, FedEx and UPS have developed extensive and effective networks, providing a cheaper way to transport time-sensitive documents. And the cost of plane tickets has tumbled relative to average earnings, removing the economic imperative for would-be couriers. These days, anyone who is flexible with dates can find a cheap flight.

Some couriers are still in the skies but they tend to be office staff (such as Jeff from the Post Room), who are drafted in for short-notice errands.